James Alan Parks was born June 15, 1950 in Granite City, Illinois to Melvin and Betty Parks. He grew up alongside his sister Mary and brother Tom. As a young boy, he dreamed of becoming a baseball player spenting countless hours throwing a baseball against a cinderblock garage with so much dedication the force of his pitch eventually shifted the block. He continued to play baseball in high school and college.

Raised attending City Temple Church where his extended family also attended. It was there he received a divine call to preach the gospel and redirected his life to answer the call. He pursued this path at Central Bible College in Springfield, Missouri and finished with the bachelors degree in theology in 1972. It was there he met the love of his life Joy Parks and they were married May 16, 1970.

 Their first pastorate was a youth position in Fort Wayne, Indiana where Eric James was born on March 3, 1973. His first senior pastor church was in Brighton, Illinois where Shara Joy was born April 12 1976. He then pastored Tri-City Park tabernacle in Granite City and Elyse was born December 12, 1987. During his 46 years of ministry, he pastored nine churches in four states. Jim had an insatiable love for God‘s word he spent countless hours pouring over different translations of the Bible and looking into the Greek and Hebrew Versions to try and pull out the meaning of each word. He loved bringing the word of God to his congregations and he preached with zeal and showed the love of our father and Jesus Christ.

 Jim loved spending time with his family. His favorite thing was to keep everybody laughing with his sharp wit and funny words, if not saying funny things or preaching behind the pulpit his favorite thing  to do was to give money to those in need and to just hand out money to his children and grandchildren. He received a gas allowance as part of his salary, but he almost always had to fill up his tank with his own money , because he had given away all of his gasoline allowance . 

Jim and Joy shared 54 years 4 months and 22 days of marriage through good times and bad through sickness and health the one thing that brought them through any trial was their deep commitment and love to each other and to our Lord Jesus. 

Jim spent his last day surrounded by his beloved children and grandson, Kolby as he clutched to life, he wanted to spend as much time that day as he could surrounded by the people who loved him and in the thoughts and prayers of his family that couldn’t be there.  An hour after we left his side to get something to eat. He slipped into eternity, the eternity that he spent his whole life trying to lead others to. I know he is at the feet of the father and praising Jesus now. 

Jim was proceeded in death by his father Melvin and his mother Betty and sister Mary. Jim leaves behind his wife Joy, son, Eric, daughter-in-law, Chrissy, daughter, Shara, and daughter Elyse and son-in-law Sean Jim’s grandchildren, Kolby, Daylie, great son-in-law Taylor, Brea, Graham, Brooklyn, Harry, Lillie, Hannah and Hazel, his brother Tom and his wife, Lynn. He will be greatly missed

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